Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup)
| team1score = 0 | team2 = Serbia | team2association = | team2score = 1 | details = FIFA Report BBC Report | date = 17 June 2018 | stadium = Cosmos Arena | city = Samara | man_of_the_match1a = Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia) | referee = Malang Diedhiou (Senegal) | attendance = 41,432 | weather = 23 °C (74 °F) | previous = | next = }} Costa Rica v Serbia was a match which took place at the Cosmos Arena on Sunday 17 June 2018. Preview and teams's preparation Costa Rica will be without Rónald Matarrita for the entire competition after the defender picked up a serious hamstring injury during training. Real Madrid's Keylor Navas is expected to start in goal for Costa Rica. Giancarlo González and Óscar Duarte should also be included in defence. Costa Rica famously reached the quarter-finals four years ago after topping a group including former winners England, Italy and Uruguay. However, the Central Americans have only ever gone beyond the group stage once before that - on their first ever appearance at the finals at Italia 90. During qualifying, they were comfortable in finishing second to advance automatically. A 2-0 defeat to England and a 4-1 loss to Belgium in recent friendlies may have shaken confidence, though head coach Óscar Ramírez says his side will be prepared for the more direct threat of the Serbians. Serbia has a clean bill of health. Branislav Ivanović is set to overtake former Inter Milan midfielder Dejan Stanković to become Serbia's most capped player with 104 international appearances. Ivanovic is likely to start alongside captain Aleksandar Kolarov with Aleksandar Mitrović deployed as the lone striker. Meanwhile, Mladen Krstajić is in charge of Serbia following the sacking of Slavoljub Muslin, who was replaced despite helping them qualify for the tournament. Krstajic has overseen some mixed fortunes at the helm with victories coming in friendlies against China, Nigeria and Bolivia. However, there have also been defeats to Morocco and Chile. Nonetheless, the tie represents the 44 year old’s first official game in charge, although he is confident his team will be ready. Since the break up of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia have been unable to progress past the group stage of a World Cup. Mladen Krstajić's side are also the lowest ranked team in the group but look strong in midfield. Manchester United's Nemanja Matić, Lazio's Sergej Milinković-Savić and Southampton's Dušan Tadić are key to their hopes of advancing. With games against Brazil and Switzerland lying in wait in Group E, this is a pivotal opening game for both nations to press their credentials to reach the knockout stages. Head to head This will be the first ever encounter between Costa Rica and Serbia. Match Aleksandar Kolarov scored a spectacular free-kick to give Serbia a deserved victory in their opening World Cup Group E match against Costa Rica. Serbia captain Kolarov - the former Manchester City defender - scored from 25 yards when he curled the ball over the Costa Rica wall. Kolarov's effort had sufficient bend to find the top corner with Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas clutching at thin air as he desperately scrambled across goal. Costa Rica only sporadically threatened the Serbia goal, with an early header over the crossbar from unmarked defender Giancarlo Gonzalez their best effort. With games against Brazil and Switzerland to come, this was a key match for both nations to press their credentials to reach the knockout stages. Mladen Krstajic's Serbia side - the lowest ranked European nation at Russia 2018 - now appear the best placed of the two to progress after a dominant second-half display. The margin of victory would have been greater had Navas not narrowed the angle to deny Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic after he had been sent clear by the impressive Sergej Milinkovic-Savic earlier in the game. Serbia's Nemanja Matic, meanwhile, was involved in an ugly confrontation with a member of the Costa Rica coaching staff in injury time as the Manchester United midfielder tried to retrieve the ball after it went out of play. Before this encounter Serbia had managed one victory in their last six World Cup tournament matches, and lost both of their opening World Cup group games as an independent nation following the break up of Yugoslavia. Optimism in the Balkan state heading into this tournament was not particularly high. Indeed the country's football association cancelled an open-top bus parade in Belgrade as part of a send-off to the tournament because they predicted such a lukewarm reaction. After a cautious start in this match there are some encouraging signs that Krstajic's blend of a gnarled experienced defence combined with a youthful technically-gifted midfield could make an impression. "There are no clans or cliques in this squad for the first time in a long time," Krstajic said. "The basics of success are a good atmosphere in a team." The creative talents of Milinkovic-Savic were particularly eye-catching and there is the sense that he must follow this impressive showing against stronger opposition. A sterner test of Serbia's capabilities will come in their remaining Group E games with Brazil and Switzerland but after a low-key build-up, this was an encouraging display. Costa Rica were one of the surprise packages of the 2014 World Cup as they topped a group which included former winners England, Italy and Uruguay en route to the quarter-finals. That side became synonymous with a fearless approach against more illustrious opponents. Many of their squad were at the peak of their careers during that tournament, but the Ticos have the second-oldest squad at this year's tournament. Their starting line-up in this match had an average age of 29 years 346 days. Francisco Calvo, at 25, was their youngest player. Against Serbia, the Ticos looked like a side whose best days were behind them. Costa Rica coach Oscar Ramirez made good on a promise to shave his head if they qualified for this tournament. However, it appears unlikely they will get out of the group stages now they are here in Russia. Details |score = 0–1 |report = Report (FIFA) Report (BBC) |team2 = |goals1 = |goals2 = Kolarov |stadium = Cosmos Arena, Samara |attendance = 41,432 |referee = Malang Diedhiou (Senegal) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Group E Table |w=1 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=1 |ga=0 |bc=lightgreen}} |w=0 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=0 |ga=0 |bc=lightgreen}} |w=0 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=0 |ga=0}} |w=0 |d=0 |l=1 |gf=0 |ga=1}} |} Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !width=130|Overall !width=70|Costa Rica !width=70|Serbia |- !scope=row|Goals scored |0||1 |- !scope=row|Total shots |10||10 |- !scope=row|Shots on target |3||3 |- !scope=row|Ball possession |50%||50% |- !scope=row|Corner kicks |5||4 |- !scope=row|Fouls committed |18||15 |-| Images= Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).1.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).2.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).3.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).4.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).5.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).6.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).7.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).8.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).9.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).10.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).11.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).12.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).13.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).14.jpg Costa Rica v Serbia (2018 World Cup).15.jpg See also *2018 FIFA World Cup :*2018 FIFA World Cup Group E External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk *Match report at fifa.com *Match preview – FOX Sports Asia Category:2018 FIFA World Cup Matches